Acute liquidity problems in the Spanish real estate sector are attracting the attention of international vulture funds that specialise in purchasing distressed real estate assets for a song.

According to the Spanish press, legal and financial consultants in Barcelona and Madrid report a surge in interest from vulture funds on the lookout for cashed-strapped developers to swoop on.

And it is not just something one reads about in the press. I have also been contacted by various organisations on the hunt for debt-laden developers who won’t make it through Spain’s property smash up. They can smell blood.

History shows that fortunes can be made by cash buyers in a distressed property market, and distress is something the Spanish property market has in spades right now. I know of some investors who did extremely well out of Spain’s last property crisis, back in the early ‘90s, and I see no reason why it will be any different this time round.

But timing is everything, and I still think it’s too soon to pounce. Give it 6 months.